Stranded
by dkprz
Summary: Spending his lifetime at a hanamachi, he was undoubtedly a male geisha. However, with all his luck boycotting him out of a sudden, he had caught the unwanted attention of certain man, or worse, men. AU.
1. Chapter 1

Stranded (Chapter 1)

Disclaimers: Not mine.

It was freezing cold with the strong wind rustling past them yet again mercilessly. He was in a very, very bad mood indeed. Wrapping his long, warm coat around himself a little tighter, Kakashi sniffled and coughed a little before he muttered in annoyance, voice muffled due to the thick scarf covering the lower half of his face, "I don't know why I agreed on this."

"You were drunk. Shut up and keep moving. We're reaching," Asuma retorted, firm but with not much venom. He was not going to give Kakashi the chance to back out from their original plan. They were going to the flower town – a place crowded with geisha of the highest class, male or female alike – and they_ were_ going to stick to that plan.

"Fine," the single word reply was spoken with plain irritation. Hatake Kakashi was pissed. And the lesson that he learnt was to never agree on anything when you were happily drunk because you would regret it sooner or later. Just like how he was regretting his promise to Asuma right now.

Unlike Asuma, Kakashi was never fond of the infamous flower town. No, he was not. A lot of others actually bid their asses off just to gain the entry passes and they went there again and again, saying that spending time with the geisha over there was the best thing ever happened to them in their whole life. It was _that _exaggerated, or perhaps that was the truth, no one knew - at least not those who never went in there before. For Kakashi however, he chose to believe the former.

Money was never a problem for both of them. After all, when they co-owned the largest corporation in Japan and the ninth largest one in the world with their businesses stretched to cover almost all fields of jobs, it positively meant that they were _rich_. Plus, Asuma had absolutely no problem with spending a mountain of money for the passes. Combined this with the drunken promise, the _fucking _drunken promise, this was how Hatake Kakashi ended up going to the flower town looking a little miserable and very much annoyed.

"Stop looking like an asshole. We're here already," putting out his ever present cigarette, Asuma said and cuffed Kakashi on the head as he pressed his huge palm on the wild shock of silver hair. It was always fun, annoying Kakashi that was. In front of them, the huge red door with detailed traditional carvings and designs was their only hindrance to enter the flower town. They could easily pick up the footsteps and soft laughs on the other side of the door and that made Asuma smiled a little. He had a particular geisha to meet.

"Don't do that, you know I hate…"

"Is it just the two of you?" a gruff voice which rang out all of a sudden effectively cut Kakashi's sentence off. Apparently, the voice belonged to the bulky guard who was currently standing in front of the door and extending his palm to them, requesting for the passes silently.

"Yes. Here, the passes," not being the first timer here, Asuma fished around his pants pockets and handed the passes to the guard, all the while smiling cheerfully. Kakashi on the other hand glowered even darker when he heard the high pitched female laughter behind the door. He had always disliked high pitch voices. They never failed to abuse his poor, poor ears.

"Thank you and enjoy your time in there."

Seeing a smile and a nod from the guard, Asuma wordlessly dragged the complaining and glowering silver haired man into the infamous town through the now open door.

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Kakashi was in awe. He really was. The flower town was nothing like he thought it would be. The magnificent geisha houses built along the street were glimmering in different shades of colours with all of them being the bright, flashy ones. Flashes of red, yellow and white occupied his eyes as he drank in the sight of the bustling night town with geisha walking around gracefully in their beautiful silk kimono that shone softly under the lights. The flower town was so lively right now and the night looked like as if it had just started despite that it was already long past midnight. Kakashi did not expect this _at all_.

"I told you it'll be good," Asuma allowed Kakashi to ogle at the sight for a couple of minutes before he decided to talk. He felt exactly the same as Kakashi when he first set foot in here, as if he was sucked into another world – the world which the geisha tradition was revived once again - and the tides of feelings, mostly wonderful ones, simply overwhelmed him. This was exactly the reason why he would spend a mountain to get in here, because the very sight in front of him right now was worth every single cent of his money.

"This is so unexpected. I mean…the geisha tradition is so uncommon these days and I'd have thought that I'm in Meiji era if I don't see so many people in suit," looking around himself, Kakashi said quietly as he continued to observe the flower town in earnest. He was taken by surprise, he had to admit that. He had thought that the flower town would be another prostitution site reeking with the smell of cigarette and cheap alcoholic drinks but this was a completely different thing. The buildings, the lights, the carvings on the buildings, the fish ponds, _everything_ was simply amazing. Even the smell in the air - the mixture of sake and perfume - was such a delight for his senses. It was a very light and unique smell, lingering around his nose not wanting to leave and teasing him slowly with the promise of high quality sake later.

"Yeah, I felt the same too when I first came here. Come, we have a place to go," Asuma patted Kakashi on the shoulder and gave him a little push as he said that. He had booked the time with one of the geisha and he was getting really late all thanks to the silver haired idiot who decided to stroll in the cold weather just for the sake of being an uncooperative prick.

"Where?" walking alongside with Asuma, Kakashi asked and looked briefly at the geisha who walked past them occasionally. He was absorbed by the white face and the fiery red lips which were the standard makeup for female geisha. Their kimono were exaggeratingly beautiful and complex with the multi-layered clothing style, a pair of dangling long sleeves and a bright obi. The back of their necks was showing and it was applied with a layer of white makeup as well. It totally _amazed_ him.

"Geisha house of course," the cheerful answer came and Kakashi was dragged by a very happy Asuma towards the direction of the biggest building at the area. Walking among the crowd, Kakashi faintly noticed that there were actually some male geisha, although not many of them. The standard makeup was missing from their good-looking faces but the exaggerative kimono with the even brighter obi was still hanging on their bodies. Asuma did not lie when he said that the geisha over here were of the highest class.

"Sarutobi-san, we've been waiting for your arrival," a young woman wearing a white kimono bowed deeply to them as they arrived in front of the building. Her black hair was pinned behind her head with a golden hair ornament holding the dark strands in place and her kimono was much simpler in design and colours compared to the other geisha. She had not applied the standard makeup but her simple beauty was being emphasized even more in this way. She was definitely one of the outstanding beauties around.

"Asuma, you're late!" the booming of a loud voice followed by the impatient footsteps announced the arrival of the proprietress, a beautiful middle age woman who looked nothing like her age. The said woman was walking towards Asuma and Kakashi with her hips swaying seductively, her slim fingers flipping through the papers on her hand in a swift manner and her golden locks moving ever slightly with her movements. The revealing black kimono did nothing to conceal her womanly curves and her gleaming milky pale flesh. Even though she was not exactly young anymore, she was actually deadly _attractive_. "Asuma, she has been waiting for you. Go now."

"Uh… Please take care of my friend here," Asuma took no time to push Kakashi to the direction of the busty blonde after he heard what the blonde had said. Giving Kakashi an apologetic smile, Asuma walked into the building without hesitation as he said cheerfully, "I have to go now. She'll take care of you. Enjoy!"

Kakashi looked at the retreating back of his friend disbelievingly, being completely speechless aside from the mental cursing. He had not expected to be left alone by Asuma. What should he do now? Taking a tour around the town did not sound too bad at the moment, or perhaps he could…

"You're Hatake Kakashi?" the blonde proprietress asked monotonously without sparing a look at the silver haired man. Instead, she fixed her light brown orbs on the stack of papers in front of her as she went through the guest lists. It seemed that the man in front of her was a friend and at the same time, the co-partner of Sarutobi Asuma.

"Yes, uh you see…"

"Okay, any preferences?" not giving Kakashi any chance to finish his sentence, the blonde woman cut in and asked in a very straightforward manner. She did not have much time to deal with the new customer. She was a busy woman after all.

"Uh, no. You see I ..."

"Stop him!" a loud yell followed by a series of crashing sounds reached Kakashi's ears and he stopped talking instantly, partly from shock but more from curious. The busty blonde had stepped back into the building and he was left alone at the entrance once again. Peeking into the building, it seemed that a geisha was causing all the hassles and chaos. He could not decide whether the geisha was a male or a female since the geisha was back-facing him. However, he managed to notice the brown hair which was loosely pinned behind the skull and the shy of tanned skin that showed itself under the wide collar of the kimono.

"What the hell are you doing?! Iruka!" the proprietress bellowed, making everyone in the building went dead still and silent instantly, except for one - the one with brown hair and tanned skin who was currently making his way out of the building. Yes, his. Kakashi could identify the geisha as a he now that he had seen the face of the geisha. Sharp but strong chin, high cheekbones, not very full lips, long straight nose and the pair of deep, warm chocolate orbs, all of these definitely were in the possession of a male geisha, a very good-looking one at that.

"I'll be back," the male geisha promised - his voice soft and calm just like a whisper - despite all the chaos he had caused. Rushing past the people who were trying to stop him, the male geisha skilfully dodged all of them with bends and twists of his flexible body. The second he leaped out of the building and hit his shoulder painfully with Kakashi's right arm, the silver haired man noticed that there was a thin scar crossing the straight nose and it was very well hidden beneath the light layer of makeup. Not realising anything, Kakashi released the breath that he had been holding unconsciously and sighed in relief when he saw the male geisha got away successfully.

"That brat… I'm so going to kill him when he's back," the blonde woman muttered under her breath as she fanned herself with the stack of guest lists, a look of pure annoyance and irritation plastered on her face. "Always running off with no reason, refusing to serve customers that he dislikes... Argh! Hatake-san, tell me your preferences of geisha now. Tell me what you want," finally noticing the silver haired man who was still standing at the entrance of the geisha house, the blonde woman took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down before she asked the same question to the same person yet again.

However, of all the answers she was expecting to hear, _this_ was definitely not one of them.

"I want him, the one called Iruka."

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A/N: I understand that geisha is different from prostitute but I modified it for this story so please bear with me. Tell me what you think about this, please? _And I really should stop starting on new stories before I finish with my older ones._


	2. Chapter 2

Stranded (Chapter 2)

Disclaimers: Not mine.

"Iruka huh? You have the eyes for quality, Hatake-san," the blonde smirked - a slight upturn of her full red lips - as she glimpsed at the retreating back of the said geisha blended into the crowd. This was not the first time that a customer asked for Iruka right away after they saw him. In fact, this happened so many times before that she had long lost count. Iruka was gifted with the ability to draw customers' attention, especially those who were able to pay for his service, even without trying hard. He was born with a natural charm. And the silver haired man just happened to be another victim fallen into it. The catch here was just that Hatake Kakashi was an infamous business tycoon. A surprise indeed.

"Money is not a problem. I want him," Kakashi appreciated the praise but he did not make any comment on it. Instead, he stated his preferences once again with the assurance that he was willing to pay since the proprietress had not made any confirmation about his request. The male geisha had caught his attention, not because of his look – which happened to be another plus actually - but because of his eyes, his chocolate coloured eyes which were so… clear. Yes, clear. He could not think of any other words since unpolluted did not sound quite right. The pair of warm, dark eyes was _clear -_ like a calm lake, like a mirror. It _fascinated_ him. And it gave him the most primal urge to make those clear, clear eyes clouded with uninhibited _lust_. He wanted that man.

"I know money is not a problem for you. But I'm afraid that alone won't do," twirling a few strands of pale gold locks between _her_ fingers, the proprietress shook her head softly and smirked again. It looked like the man in front of her was indeed a new comer, and an extremely clueless one at that. She was bounded to sacrifice her time to do some further explanation to the clueless customer, and so she did. "Plus, I assume that you have the completely wrong definition about wanting him."

Curious, Kakashi tilted his head, gave the blonde a sceptical look and asked, "How so?"

"Iruka doesn't serve customers _that_ way. Selling talents is all he does, nothing else," the busty woman answered, purposely emphasizing a certain word with a hard, long pronunciation. A lot of people mistook geisha as prostitutes, she knew. Some of the geisha really did provide services of that sort but prostitution was NOT the right word to describe the job as a geisha, not at all. Being a geisha meant that a person had to start his or her training at a very young age and later on continued even further by being the apprentice of a more experienced geisha. They learnt the art of Japanese tea, graceful movements, polite speaking styles, traditional instruments and so on - they were nothing close to prostitutes because they trained, they practiced, _hard_. Too bad, people had the tendency to group both categories together as one.

"Oh..." Kakashi nodded in realisation, feeling a tad bit guilty by his earlier assumption - he had thought that he would be able to purchase a night, _that_ kind of night, with the male geisha. Apparently, he was wrong. However, after a little pondering and thinking, he thought that talents were fine by him as well and that was the reason for the continuation of his previous sentence. "As long as I get to spend some time with him, I'm willing to pay. Can you please arrange this for me?"

The proprietress obviously had not expected this to be the answer if the widening of her eyes was any indication. Finally regaining her composure, she smiled and removed the pen that was clipped on her kimono folds as she jotted down some notes. "Alright, I'll try but don't let your hopes up. Iruka is stubborn. He doesn't serve customers that he dislikes and he's firm about it. So if he rejects you, I can do nothing but to refund or get you another geisha. Do you understand?" raising her head to look at Kakashi, the blonde smiled and clipped the pen back onto her kimono folds. Kakashi certainly did not look half as bad as the others – even if the lower half of his face was not visible right now - but Iruka was a picky one. He looked at people, according to Iruka himself, by heart. So no matter how rich or how good-looking a customer was, as long as the customer made him felt uncomfortable, Iruka would reject the offer without a second thought. Kakashi, with no exception, was going to go through the so called inspection as well.

"Yes, thank you very much. And how may I address you?" nodding, Kakashi smiled back at the proprietress and asked. He thought that it would be polite to at least ask about the blonde's name, given that they had been talking for the past five minutes and given that they would most probably had a long lasting provider-customer kind of relationship in the future.

"Tsunade is fine," a short and crisp answer, just as expected from a woman of that personality.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Tsunade. Here's my card. Just contact me when the booking time is confirmed," taking a black colour business card out of his expensive looking wallet, Kakashi handed it to the blonde who took it gladly with a grin. It seemed that his business here was done and all he needed to do was to wait for the confirmation call. He was surprised at how expectant he was being – the male geisha had certainly attracted him until one extent but right now, he could do nothing but to wait. The male geisha… he ran away a while back then after all.

"Shizune, come here!" a wave of the slender hand accompanied by the loud booming of voice caught the attention of almost everyone in the building. The geisha in white kimono who greeted him earlier when he first reached the geisha house walked towards him gracefully and gave him a small smile when she reached his side. "She'll be serving you tonight, no charges. Take it as an apology for what happened to your arm earlier," Tsunade tilted her chin towards the geisha in white kimono, smiled slyly, and swiftly went back into the building without saying anything else. Kakashi did not get a chance to recover from the brief shock before a pair of slender arms snaked around his bicep and gave it a gentle pull. Surprised, he spared a look at the geisha before he allowed himself to be led into the building, all the while being completely silent.

Throughout the night of dance, music and sake accompanied by a very beautiful geisha, all that Kakashi could think of was surprisingly - _Iruka_.

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"You better have a very good explanation for me," Tsunade glared at the smiling man in front of him and crossed her slender legs. She was trying to sound as venomous as possible but when she saw the smile – the smile which could melt almost everything in the world, including her anger – she simply _knew_ that she failed to sound like the way she wanted to. And the man just had to make it worse by smiling even wider. And then he _fucking_ _goddamned_ _blushed_.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama. I forgot to do something back then so I was in a bit of rush," the tanned skin man who stood in front of the desk replied, all the while smiling softly. He was not in an exaggerative kimono like the previous night but he was wearing a simple baby blue yukata instead. Without any makeup, the thin scar across his nose which was in a lighter colour than the rest of his tanned skin stood out even clearer. His long brown hair was loosely tied into a messy ponytail and if he was looking stunning yesterday night, he looked _serene_ right now. And Tsunade totally had a soft spot for that kind of look.

"Argh, I just can't stay angry at you for long. Is it about Naruto again?" running a hand through her golden locks, Tsunade flipped through the paperwork on her desk and asked. On the list of people and things which could make Iruka worried sick like yesterday night, Naruto was definitely on top of the list. She would not even be the slightest surprised if Iruka said yes to her question, it was always about Naruto. It was always about the kids, _his_ kids.

"Yes. I'm very sorry, Tsunade-sama," Iruka bowed and apologized once again, the smile on his face never faded. He knew he needed to keep his smile to keep Tsunade's anger in check, so he did. As for the repeating apology, it was just the standard procedure. Both Tsunade and he knew that he was not being apologetic, at all.

"Fine, fine. Take a look at this," handing a piece of paper with a photograph attached on it to Iruka, Tsunade said and observed the switching emotions on Iruka's face. She was so very eager to know what Iruka's answer would be. She was betting with her lifesavings again – not that she had a lot of money in this case, she lost almost all of them during her last gambling session. But, a bet was still a bet and she would NOT lose again.

"Hatake Kakashi…" the soft whisper of the name slipped from Iruka's tongue without his permission but he did not mind it. From the picture, the view of man's lower half face was obscured by a scarf and part of the wild silver hair was covering the man's left eye. So, the only part he could see was the sole grey eye, looking relaxed but yet so intense at the same time. It took only a couple of seconds for Iruka to recall who the person in the photograph was. He did have a memory power that he was proud of. "I ran into him yesterday night, didn't I?"

"Yeah. He said he wanted you but I told him you don't provide _that _kind of service. Surprisingly, he still requested for you," Tsunade explained and rubbed her hands together gleefully underneath her desk, her actions hidden from Iruka's view. From the current conversation flow, she was eighty six point seven percent sure that she was going to win the bet. The remaining thirteen point three percent was due to the slight perspiration on Iruka's temples which was a new reaction thus she was unable to identify it as a positive or a negative sign. But again, it did not matter. She was _so_ going to win this.

"Tell him to come over tonight at eight. I'll serve him for the whole night, free of charge," putting the paper back onto the desk, Iruka gave the blonde a smile and said softly. The loud crash followed closely to his answer was expected, but still amused him to no end. It seemed that Tsunade was too happy to contain her excitement of winning the bet that she collided with the desk when she attempted to raise her hands high up in the air as a sign of celebration. That woman, she never changed.

"O-Okay, I'll contact him. How long do you expect him to stay?" stuttering a little, Tsunade gasped in the much needed air as she reached around for her phone. Getting her hands slammed on a desk definitely did not feel good, not at all, not even when she just won a bet. Her eyes were getting wet and she was trembling all over and _damn _because it hurt like hell, literally.

Looking at the miserable proprietress, Iruka tried hard not to smirk openly. Instead, he gave his answer, short and simple, before he turned to leave the room without excusing himself. He knew he did not need to do so, at least not when Tsunade was drowning in her own miserable little world. Plus, the busty woman did not even care about the so called respect to the leader of the geisha house and such. Thus, it had no point for him to do the standard bowing and stepping three steps back before turning around and left. He just well… left.

It did not take very long for Iruka to come to a realisation. For the first time ever in his career life, he was actually looking forward to meet his customer – the one called Hatake Kakashi.

And that was exactly why he told Tsunade, _"Let him stay as long as he wants."_

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"_Is this Hatake-san speaking?" _

"_Yes."_

"_I'm Tsunade. Your time with Iruka is 8 o'clock tonight. Don't be late."_

"_Okay, thank you very much."_

Pressing the flat, red button on his cell phone, Kakashi was unable and did not give a damn to stop the smile that stretched his cheeks and showed his very shallow dimples. Taking less than a day to pass the so called inspection, he was definitely a lucky one.

"Oi, why are you looking like a retard?" removing the cigarette out of his mouth, Asuma frowned and asked when he noted the silly look on his friend's face. It was not a very common occurrence, Hatake Kakashi looking like an idiot that was not. So, there was definitely something wrong with the phone call that his silver haired partner just answered.

"Am I? Maa, it's nothing," Kakashi gave Asuma a bored look and answered with an equally bored tone, effectively switched back to his old self within the matter of seconds. He did not mind Asuma knowing about Iruka but he did not feel the particular need to say that when Asuma was drinking his morning coffee – he was sure that the man was going to spit everything out, perhaps his lungs and intestines along as well.

"Fine, fine. Whatever, just get back to work already," not trusting the answer that Kakashi gave but not wanting to pry any further, Asuma just waved his hand dismissively and got back to his own stack of never ending paperwork. He would kill anyone who said that Kakashi and he were those rich young men who leeched off their fathers' wealth, he really would. The paperwork, it was plain crazy.

"Hai, hai," a way too cheerful answer reached Asuma's ears and it instantly gave him a slight shiver along with some goose bumps. He did not need to be a genius to confirm the suspicion that Hatake Kakashi was definitely up to something – good or bad, his silver haired friend was definitely up to something.

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A/N: Plot bunnies, I beg of you. Please leave me alone for now because I NEED to study… cries. By the way, thanks for the lovely reviews! It was very surprising to get such positive responses so thank you! :)


	3. Chapter 3

Stranded (Chapter 3)

Disclaimers: Not mine.

Kakashi stopped his car somewhere near the huge red door, relieved that he could actually find a parking despite the crowded condition of the area. A glimpse at his wristwatch and he simply could not stop the slight frown that donned his pale forehead. Breaking the record of being late for three years straight just because he wanted to meet a certain geisha? It was unexpected. Turning off his car engine, Kakashi opened his side of car door which went upwards instead of sideways and set one of his long, elegant legs down to the ground, at the same time running a slender hand through his silver strands of hair. He had easily caused a scene, he knew. He could sense the eyes fixated on his car, his legs or on _him_ generally - it was pretty uncomfortable, but he was long used to it. Being a man in the best years of his life, having the look of a real life Adonis, wearing a classy designer suit and driving a Lamborghini Murcielago LP 640 of a dark silver colour, with that not being his best ride yet – it would be _impossible _if someone claimed that they did not notice him.

His charisma, it _overflowed._

Not bothering about the glances directed at him, as most of them were basically green with envy, Kakashi walked towards the entrance taking large, distanced strides, his back straight and his head held high. Yes, he looked unapproachable and arrogant, he realised that. But, he also knew that he looked confident and downright _hot_ at the same time.

"Entry pass please?" a voice rang out as Kakashi approached the entrance, effectively stopping the silver haired man's silent musing. Without a word, Kakashi handed his slightly crumpled pass to the guard, smiling as he did so. Surprisingly, the guard with a bandage across his nose returned the polite gesture with a smile of his own, showing a row of white straight teeth for a couple of seconds before he ducked his head to check the pass wordlessly.

"Thank you. Have a great night in there," another smile from the bashful looking guard and the door was opened. Vaguely noting that Hagane Kotetsu was indeed a very polite guard, Kakashi walked into the night town, fully anticipating his time with Iruka.

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The flower town was nothing different from what he remembered, being all hustle bustle and crowded with people - most of them being suit-wearing middle aged men. The lights and the smell around him were as amazing as ever, teasing his senses mercilessly with the appealing promises of a great night. Wasting no time, Kakashi made his way to the largest building at the far end of the geisha town, this time not sparing any look at the other geisha as his mind was way too occupied with a certain geisha to do so.

Therefore, when he caught sight of the familiar figure standing in front of the building entrance, bowing and smiling oh-so-beautifully to the customers that shuffled in and out of the building, his breath hitched involuntarily even though it was just for a mere second. He was not quite sure why though. Perhaps it was out of anxiety, perhaps it was just jealousy or perhaps it was a little of something else – he could not decide. But, he knew that he was positively happy to see him, the one named Iruka.

Wearing a kimono of the lightest blue with streaks of darker blue, white and gold dancing across the rim of the clothing, Iruka looked absolutely stunning. His long obi was a blue so dark that it looked almost black and there were tiny patterns decorating the dark piece of clothing. Dangling down from Iruka's slim waist, the silky cloth rested snugly on its own special spot which happened to be right on top of Iruka's ankles. The kimono itself was not half as exaggerative as the ones that the other geisha wore but somehow, Iruka stood out even more like that. He looked perfectly _perfect _in his own unique way.

The silver haired man did not realise anything but he was actually staring and staring… until a soft voice called his name with the addition of an honorific suffix which no one had ever used on him before. With that, he finally realised that his feet had already brought him to his destination even though it was without his consent. Surprised, Kakashi managed to put on a little smile as he locked his gaze with Iruka, all the while trying his best not to stare openly.

"Kakashi-sama, I've been waiting for your arrival," Iruka spoke, his voice soft and smooth. For Kakashi, the feeling of listening to that smooth voice was surprisingly identical to the feeling of drinking a cup of high class sake – both of them being amazing that was. And when the tanned skin geisha smiled at him, brilliant and bright, Kakashi thought that the smile was perhaps the prettiest thing that he had seen in a very long time - it was absolutely _stunning_. With that being the reason, he stared again.

"Kakashi-sama?" Iruka reached out and patted Kakashi's forearm tentatively when the silver haired man did not reply to his greetings. Kakashi had not expected the tender touch on his forearm so it was out of pure reflex when he recoiled his arm, looking a little surprised.

"Kakashi-sama, why aren't you talking to me?" Iruka inquired with his ever soft voice, pouting slightly for better effect. The flirtatious question accompanied by a soft smile and a tiny pout successfully coaxed Kakashi into talking in no time. Finally regaining his composure, Kakashi ignored his dry throat and spoke with a well-pretended uninterested tone. Or at least he tried to.

"Maa, I'm sorry. So… you're Iruka?"

"Yes. It's a pleasure meeting you, Kakashi-sama," with that said, Iruka bowed deeply with his hands clutched together in front of his abdomen and he stayed in that position for a couple of seconds before he straightened his back, meeting Kakashi's gaze once again. "Shall we go in then?"

The gentle grasp on his wrist was all Kakashi needed before he nodded his agreement and returned Iruka's smile with one of his own.

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Kakashi had to say that he was _amazed_.

On the first look at his surrounding, Kakashi could tell that the interior of the building was nothing less extravagant than the exterior. If he really had to compare, he would have said that the interior was even more surreal and unbelievable than what he saw outside. The lights were shades of comfortable dim red and the wooden furniture decorated with delicate carvings shone softly under the lights. There was a stage in the middle of the hall with performers dancing on stage and the whole place was crowded with people and geisha alike, making the air a little too stuffy for his likings. Kakashi could not help but to frown a little when he thought about the idea of cramping together with all these people in the main hall. He was not particularly fond of being a sardine after all, no matter how appealing the design of the hall seemed to be.

A gentle pull on his wrist made Kakashi focused his attention back to the geisha who was leading him across the hall without stopping. He was a tad bit curious. Weren't they going to find a seat in the main hall? As if reading his mind, Iruka turned around and whispered – if the twinkle of mirth in the chocolate orbs were any indication – cheekily, "Our place isn't here. Come with me."

Kakashi's single visible eye widened a little when Iruka led him right across the hall and exited the place through a well-hidden door at the side. Their little journey did not stop just there. Walking past various corridors and rooms, Kakashi followed Iruka's lead silently, not asking a thing even though he was curious. He realised that they were meeting fewer and fewer people on their way and finally, _finally_ they reached a garden, quiet and silent except for the sounds of frogs and the occasional crickets. They stopped walking.

"We're here," Kakashi felt Iruka let go of his wrist and the previously warm spot cooled down almost instantly under the ministration of cold air. He would have whined for the loss of warmth if he was not _the_ Hatake Kakashi, a rich, successful and well-known businessman. But he _was_. So, instead of whining, Kakashi stuffed his hands into his pants pockets in a feeble attempt to bring back the warmth – which he very well knew that his attempt would fail – as he scanned his surrounding briefly.

It was a traditional Japanese garden with a huge pond covering almost half of the area and a pavilion stood in the middle of the pond with a bridge connecting it to the ground. There were small lanterns hanging at the pavilion and their bright red reflections on the pond surface would be distorted whenever a ripple appeared. The lotuses were not blooming at night time but they still looked beautiful with their flower buds showing just a shy of pinkish white. Kakashi could see the flickering lights located at the far, far corner of the pond and this just added extra points to the beauty of the garden – it was a refreshing change from the busy night town.

"This place is beautiful," focusing his gaze back to Iruka, Kakashi smiled and crinkled his visible eye, clearly showing his approval for Iruka's choice of place. For some reasons, his usual smile looked far more genuine than it usually did. And Kakashi realised that looking at his own reflection – clear and untouched – in the pair of dark brown orbs was definitely a mesmerising and addictive activity, especially when the owner of the clear orbs had absolutely no problems with staring straight back at him, looking as innocent as a dove.

"Come, follow me," it was a nice surprise for Kakashi when Iruka broke their locking gaze, snaked an arm around his elbow, leaned close to him and led him to the pavilion. His source of warmth came back and the mild jasmine scent on Iruka's hair teased his sense of smell every once in a while whenever the wind was blowing in the right direction. He was addicted to the scent within a second. Not that he was complaining though, not when he could so casually lean closer to Iruka and inhaled the mild jasmine scent – he _loved_ doing that to bits.

"Is that a Japanese zither?" Kakashi pointed a pale finger at the instrument resting in the middle of the pavilion and asked, expecting for an answer. He was pretty sure that this was a traditional Japanese instrument but he could not recall the proper name of it right away. However, he could easily indentify the sake that was placed on a low table right beside the instrument. It was a bottle of Fuuka Junmai, judging from the light fruity aroma which had a touch of pineapple and melon hinted underneath the smell. He was _good_ with sake, he drank it often after all. And knowing that the best part about Fuuka Junmai was the three hundred bottles limit, he knew that drinking it again would be such a pleasure for his taste buds. Yes, definitely a pleasure.

"Yes, we called it koto. This is a twenty one stringed version and it's a little different from the usual thirteen stringed ones," Kakashi listened to the explanation as he watched the geisha ran a single slender digit across the strings, being all tender and careful, just like how a mother would touch her child. Settling down at the low bench in front of the koto, Iruka looked up at Kakashi and asked in his soft and polite voice, "Would you like me to play a song for you?"

It was an instant answer – _yes._

"Make yourself comfortable, Kakashi-sama. Enjoy the music," the smile from Iruka was again, blinding. Finding a seat directly in front of the geisha, Kakashi watched closely as Iruka put on the ivory plucks on his slim fingers as a preparation for the performance. He was curious about the material used for the plucks but he chose to keep quiet and pour himself a cup of the oh-so-wonderful sake instead. Relaxing his stiff muscles, Kakashi leaned back and took a sip of the sake, revelling in the soft velvety feel at first and the following strong alcoholic taste which bloomed on his taste buds right after he swallowed the tiny sip. _Wonderful. _

Never tearing his gaze away from the geisha, Kakashi noticed that Iruka signalled the starting of his music with a small inhale of breath which was barely audible even for his sensitive hearing. The slender fingers then descended onto the strings, the movement tender and beautiful, as the first note was played confidently. It was a beautiful sound, low, thick and deep, and it easily reverberated in the quiet garden. It took only a couple of notes played before Kakashi managed to recognise the song – it was the Butterfly Lovers. He was not the least surprised that Iruka chose to perform this song, it was very beautiful and famous masterpiece after all.

However, no matter how familiar Kakashi was with this song, it was his very first time listening to this piece being played on a traditional Japanese instrument instead of the violin or the orchestra version that he usually listened to. It was_ very _tantalizing.

Sighing in contentment, Kakashi slowly closed his eyes as he allowed the distinct and unique sound of the traditional instrument caressed his sense of hearing for all its worth. He would not have his night spent in any way other than this. High quality sake with beautiful music, it was so close to perfect. Adding Iruka to the whole picture, it became_ more_ than perfect.

His night, it was so going to be a good one.

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A/N: For those who had never listened to Butterfly Lovers on traditional zither before, or Butterfly Lovers generally, please do listen to it. It's amazingly beautiful. One the side note, review please?


	4. Chapter 4

Stranded (Chapter 4)

Disclaimers: Not mine.

"That, was absolutely _beautiful_," thin lips curving upwards, Kakashi gave Iruka a venerating look as he applauded, the gesture slow and quiet but absolutely genuine. It had been long since he last heard something as wonderful as that, as if the music itself was speaking, singing, crying even – when it revealed a past tale of unrequited love, narrated the whispers of broken hearts and recited the unbreakable ligature between two lovers. Now that he thought of it again, beautiful was not even close to what he had in mind. No words could ever describe the sheer beauty of the music. Such tranquillity and serenity, he had always thought that these were impossible for him to find in a city as hectic as Tokyo. But somehow, right here, right now, with high quality sake perfecting the tantalizing play of traditional music by a very, _very_ attractive geisha - he had found them.

"Thank you," the reply from Iruka, was as expected, soft – like the caress of gentle summer breeze, the touch of poshly cashmere and the taste of high class sake – it gave the most pleasing sensation to his sensitive hearing, and Kakashi liked it to bits. He could not seem to get enough of that addictive voice. And he vaguely thought that perhaps he never would, not in a lifetime, especially not when said voice was currently producing some soft chuckling noises which rang out clearly in the secluded area. Beautiful? _Totally. _

Oh right, he could not leave out those eyes that drawn his attention at the very first place now, could he? Those wide, innocent doe eyes which were currently shimmering in a barely visible glint of arrogant gold instead of the usual warm brown under the soft glow of the red lanterns. It made Iruka looked a little less imperturbable and a little more veritable – as if the gentle, polite façade that the geisha had been wearing all the time was peeled off the very first layer. It excited him, and he could not wait to peel off the next layer, and the next, curious and wanting to see exactly what Iruka was composed of in the very core. With that being the sole reason, he asked, voice not sounding placid but seductive instead.

"Come here?"

The reply that Kakashi received this time around was a couple seconds of comfortable silence which was followed by a smile – a smile that stretched the not very full lips into a thin line and narrowed the wide brown orbs into happy crescents, very contagious indeed. And Kakashi found himself smiling in return as Iruka nodded and lifted his talented fingers away from the koto, standing up and walking towards him with the lean hips swaying ever slightly at every harder step. Iruka had looked _stunning _then, surreal even, especially when it came to the soft gold glint in those pair of clear orbs. Kakashi simply had to stare. It was too much of a waste if he forgot this very beautiful sight in front of him, so he willed his brain to memorise it, seeing that he clearly knew he would regret if he could not recall this in the future.

"Kakashi-sama, do you know that it's bad luck to pour sake for yourself?" the sake cup clutched on his right hand was gently taken away from him by Iruka at the same time the soft voice rang out yet again. Surprised at the sudden question, Kakashi remained silent and chose not to answer. But instead, he gave the geisha a smile as he put his strong arm across Iruka's shoulder and pulled the geisha closer to his side, _warm_. The familiar scent of jasmine invaded his nose soon after, just like what he had anticipated earlier, and the quiet sigh of contentment that slipped past his lips was not even bothered to be stopped by him. Nights like this were rare, so he preferred not to say a thing as he closed his eyes and simply revelled in the other person's warmth together with the soft scent of jasmine that lingered around.

"Kakashi-sama?" a gentle call of his name, together with the honorific that Kakashi had somehow grown accustomed with, was all it took to make Kakashi changed his mind about not-talking.

"I'm not who I am today because of luck, you know? It's all about capabilities," toying with the delicate embroideries on Iruka's kimono collar, Kakashi replied idly as he met Iruka's eyes once in a while to glimpse at the gold glint, occasionally dipping his fingers into the wide collar _accidentally_ just to get a touch at the bare tanned skin. His fingertips tingled with little jolts of warmth whenever they came in contact with Iruka's skin and the tingling sensation spread from his fingertips to his entire being, warming him up inside out. The fact that Iruka did not squirmed or tensed under his touch, but instead leaned even closer to him and rested his head on his shoulder just made the whole night thousand times better than it first started.

"I see… Do you mind if I say something then?" Kakashi tensed up a little at the slightly out of place question, but it was more of curiosity rather than shock. It seemed that Iruka could always catch him off-guard with unexpected actions and replies, but he was not complaining. He had not met a person who was completely unreadable by him for a very long time, and Iruka happened to be one of those that he could not read no matter how hard he tried. It kept his enthusiasm in check, plus it provided him with the best amusement he could get – ergo, he was not going to complain anytime soon. Nodding his approval, Kakashi moved his single hand further up to cup the geisha's cheek and tilted Iruka's face upwards to meet his. A pair of warm brown with hints of gold met a sole grey so dark that it was almost black and Kakashi thought that his reflection in those calm and clear pools was perfect.

"Say whatever you like, Iruka," purposely drawling the geisha's name in his deeper and huskier voice just because he wanted to, Kakashi smirked and carefully hid the lust that remained uncovered underneath the seemingly plain sentence. He gave the geisha a closer look then, his thumb tracing absentmindedly at the very end of the scar that sliced across Iruka's nose. And he surprised himself when he thought that the scar was actually not hideous at all, especially when he compared it to one of his own. If anything, the scar just added a dash of originality and individuality to Iruka, with the slight bumpy feeling on the otherwise smooth face being so addictive that it made him traced the spot repetitively just because he felt the compelling need to _feel_. However, his trance of action stopped in a halt when he heard what Iruka said next.

"_Arrogant bastard." _

Okay, that was NOT expected. At all. Frozen, Kakashi stared at the geisha who was grinning cheekily in front of him, proudly showing a row of straight white teeth and two pointy canines that dug into a slightly plump lower lip. Shocked? Surprised? Yes, totally. But it was not because of the fact that Iruka had just called him a bastard. He was long familiar to that name as it was used on him pretty often – especially by Asuma – so the actual problem did not lay there. In fact, there was no problem at all. He was just surprised that he managed to take off another layer of politeness off Iruka in such a short time. And he was enjoying every minute of it.

Spacing out in his own little world, Kakashi barely felt the slender forefinger that was poking his chest playfully, trying to gain his attention with the periodical touches. "You told me to say whatever I like, Kakashi-sama," Iruka pouted, pursing his pair of lips out and up, purposely making them looked fuller than they really were. And at that moment, Kakashi thought that Iruka looked absolutely endearing and adorable, not to mention downright kissable with the batting long lashes and pouting lips.

_Restrain, Kakashi. Restrain. _

"Kakashi-sama?" another call of his name, this time with a tone of tentativeness and unsureness – as if the geisha thought that he had said something that offended him. Kakashi knew that he had to amend this as soon as he saw the arrogant gold slowly faded away from the pair of expressive orbs. He had grown fond of the aggressive gold glow in Iruka's eyes and it just would not do if the glow dimmed. Thus, giving Iruka a toothy grin as a signal that he did not mind a thing that Iruka had just said, Kakashi ticked the pointy nose gently as he asked in a nonchalant manner, "Maa… How am I arrogant?"

"You don't even believe in luck," the sultry reply came immediately, and the faded gold slowly came back to life in the brown orbs, lighting up the dark pools in small streaks of glimmering shine. _Success. _Feeling glad, Kakashi smiled and gave Iruka a dismissive shrug as he tried to reach for the sake cup once again. Unexpectedly, a pair of warm hands stopped him by entwining their fingers together in a firm hold, not letting go even if Kakashi retracted and pulled back a little. But no matter how good and how warm that had felt, Kakashi simply could not stop the frown that formed on his pale and almost unseen forehead, not understanding the reasons behind Iruka's action.

"Even if you don't believe it, I want you to have good luck. No matter now or in the future, I wish all the best luck for you," looking at Iruka pouring the sake for him, with the slender fingers clutching the sake bottle in a loose hold and the caressing voice rang out so clearly in the quiet area, Kakashi suddenly had a bad premonition. A very bad one at that. It seemed that the _thing_ – whatever _thing_ it was – that he had for Iruka was not restricted to pure lust anymore. And he just realised that. He wanted to know the man better, wanted to spend time with him, wanted to peel of every single layer of façade that the geisha wore and wanted to know exactly why Iruka wished him good luck even though they barely knew each other.

"Why?" he asked then, not teasingly or nonchalantly but dead serious and so quiet because he wanted to know the reasons, badly. He was quite the loner in his twenty seven years of life. Being a genius since forever, graduated from world top university with a master degree when he was twelve, obtained his phD title in the studies of finance and economics when he was seventeen – he had never gotten the chance to mix with people of his own age range. He was always the youngest among the circle of people whom he met. And those people who were heavily out of his age range never bothered to befriend him either. He really had no one close except his childhood friends like Asuma and Gai – who were not quite the prodigies but close enough. He had only them and a few others, whom he basically could count with his ten fingers. And he was not exactly proud of it. So, he could not understand why Iruka even bothered about his luck when he was just another customer.

"Because I wanted to," Iruka gave his answer so quickly, it seemed that the question which he asked was not even worthy to be thought about. Kakashi was again taken aback by what Iruka had said, even more when he heard the continuation of Iruka's explanation. "Because if you gain good luck, you'll come back to me for more. And I want you to come again," with that said, Iruka served the sake for him, a hand placed under the cup while the other held the rim gently with his long slender fingers bent in the most delicate way. The placating smile that Iruka showed him at that moment was pure brilliance and Kakashi could not do anything except melting right at the spot. He so totally took the bait.

"You want me to visit you again?" finally regaining some of his composure after battling hard with himself not to kiss those lips just yet, Kakashi downed his sake before he asked in an uninterested tone despite the fact that he was screaming out "_God yes! I'd love to come back to you!" _secretly in his mind. Iruka just smiled in return – gentle and beautiful – as he took the now empty cup away from Kakashi's hand and again entwined their fingers together, his other hand placed flat on Kakashi's chiseled chest right on top of the thumping heart.

"Yes. Please?"

It took a total of less than one second for Kakashi to agree.

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A/N: Credits to DarkAuroran for pointing out the sake tradition. It's considered as bad luck if one pours sake for oneself so I cleared that up in this chapter. I can't reply to fellow anonymous reviewers but I do appreciate the reviews you guys dropped for me. Very much love, thank you. Enjoy the new chapter! One more thing, am I moving the plot too slowly?


	5. Chapter 5

Stranded (Chapter 5)

Disclaimers: Not mine.

"That's it. Spill, Hatake," the gruff and impolite order rang out clearly in the otherwise quiet room, effectively stopping the furious typing on keyboards by the other two occupants of the room. A firm knock quickly followed, indicating that there was at least one person who was feeling desperately annoyed in that particular office until he felt the compelling need to abuse his forehead. It was not very hard to spot the person who did not appreciate the disruption though – if one managed to notice the irritated frown which looked dangerously permanent on the person's forehead ever since the unusual guest came into his office and gotten comfortable with him, way _too _comfortable actually.

"Kakashi, I'm almost a father for you. How could you not tell me what's going on in your private, exciting, kinky, hot and oh-so-wild sex life?!" the gruff-looking man spoke again, this time with a hint of desperation lacing his voice, accompanied by a pair of strong arms flailing comically at his own sentence just for the sake of annoying two of his favourite apprentices. He did a very good job at that, seeing that there were at least five pens, four books, three files, two staplers and one shoe flying directly at him. Too bad, none of those gotten a bull-eye.

"Jiraiya, OUT," these two simple words were spoken sternly with pure, undiluted venom, pretty much as expected. Slumping tiredly on the majestic mahogany chair was Asuma – the proud owner of the office – rubbing his forehead repeatedly in a futile attempt to remove the almost permanent frown, hopefully along with the raging headache that was positively killing him. Thus, it did not take him too long to decide that he could not, and _would not _take Jiraiya's antics any longer, as he was pretty sure that losing his mind would not be too far away from him judging from the situation right now – namely having two lunatics, one a tad bit more normal than the other, residing in his office.

"I second that. Get out of my office, Jiraiya," a slim, elegant finger was pointed directly at the exit of the office as the third and final occupant of the room, the one with untamed silver hair and pale alabaster skin finally voiced out, his voice deep but a little hoarse due to the lack of talking. The focus gaze of a single grey orb was finally torn away from the computer screen to direct at the white haired troublemaker, not showing much interest in the process. Another pale set of fingers smoothly removed the spectacles that were resting on the bridge on the straight nose as Kakashi closed his single visible eye, effectively hiding the stormy grey iris at the same time allowing those near white lashes to rest comfortably on his high cheeks. He was too tired to deal with all the hassles, really.

"Kakashi… this is NOT your office if you still haven't noticed that. Oh and Jiraiya, the door is over there," glaring at his life-long friend who was currently taking a break from their unending paperwork, Asuma reminded half-heartedly without the intention of forcing his friend out of his office. In truth, he had gotten too used to Kakashi's presence in his office during working hours, much to his own dislike. However, there was yet another presence in their shared office, loud and irritable, who was actually not welcomed by both of them AT ALL. Yes, the gruff one who was reading porn out loud with his feet placed snugly on the table without his sandals removed.

_That _one.

"How could both of you do this to me?! I'm the one spending half of my life moulding you two into world-known business tycoons! You should be thanking me but look! Look at both of you now! So successful but such ungrateful brats… Not even allowing me to sit in your office, throwing stuffs at me, throwing _shoe_ at me, pointing at the exit with your middle fingers… Don't you two know some respect? Respect as in R-E-S-P-E-C-T! Seriously, you two disappoint me. A waste of air, food and water just because…"

"Jiraiya, scolding us when you're STILL reading your porn won't have any desirable effects. Just so you know," sighing, Asuma directed a look which was completed by the narrowing of his dark orbs and the scrunching-together of his thick brows to the still babbling man, feeling so completely and totally agitated. He was sure that Jiraiya would not be able to notice a single thing, not even his teeth-paining sour look as the white-haired pervert was still literally sticking his nose into the book with a big 18sx printed clearly on the back cover.

"Really? Then I should stop scolding. Now Kakashi, tell your great, wonderful and oh-so-amazing Jira-papa about your little Ruka baby," not pulling sight away from his book even for a second, Jiraiya slumped even more comfortably on the chair as he raised his legs even higher onto Asuma's desk. The paperwork that scattered on the floor making a terrible mess due to his own irresponsible action did not even catch Jiraiya's slightest attention as he really could care less. But, someone else _did_ care. Asuma did. And that was the sole reason why there was yet another leather shoe gliding past the tip of Jiraiya's spiky white hair, being dangerously close to the target but again skilfully and _thankfully_ dodged.

"Little Ruka… baby…?" a slight twitch from Kakashi, voice shaking a little as he spoke in total disbelief. He had a subtle idea that Jiraiya was talking about Iruka, the geisha whom he spent a lot of time with lately, but he had absolutely _no _idea how the old-geezer knew about them. Bad_, very_ _bad _indeed_._ Nothing could be worse than letting someone else knew about his private life which he tried so hard to keep it down and away from others' prying, especially from the paparazzi. His personal life was somehow a hot topic for the press, seeing that he was crowned as the most eligible bachelor of the year six times in a row now, including this year. Not that he appreciated any of that though.

"Well… Iruka, geisha, brown hair, big eyes with a pretty damn nice ass. Ring any bell?"

Knowing that his earlier guess was right on target, Kakashi took a deep breath to steady himself and his slowly boiling temper as he once again pointed the exit for the white haired man who showed no sign of leaving. Jiraiya did not and most definitely _would not_ take his cue to leave, he knew it by heart. Despite that, he did give one last desperate try as he ran his slim fingers through the messy bush of silver hair in pure annoyance which ended up making him looked just elegant.

"Don't make yourself too comfortable, get out."

"I don't plan to do that anytime soon. Now, spill everything before I spill it for you and add a hell lot more of sauce into it," smiling evilly behind the pages of his book, Jiraiya threatened with an even tone which contrasted ironically with his devilish threats. He was so very determined to make Kakashi told him everything since this was the very first time his silver-haired apprentice actually kept a same partner for such a long period of time. And even though he had already heard about the entire situation from Tsunade, he simply wanted to hear it himself from Kakashi who was directly involved in it. He was a caring and responsible, if not a little busybody father-like figure for Kakashi who had lost his parents since young after all.

And he most certainly knew that deep down Kakashi respected him like a father and therefore would undoubtedly give in to his request, reasonable or not. To his delight, he was proven right.

"Fine. I don't dislike him. I spend a lot of time with him lately and plan to do the same in the future. End of story."

The whole sentence was spoken in a flat monotone and it was clear as day that Kakashi was not comfortable in revealing his private life to others when he himself was not mentally prepared, not even to people as close as Jiraiya or Asuma. Of course, for the two who had known Kakashi for years, they managed to catch the underlying message of the sentence just fine. And being a good friend he was, Asuma just could not resist the urge to tease his childhood buddy for a little, completely forgotten about getting Jiraiya out of his office was his priority one minute ago.

"You know, this is basically translated into I like him, I date him around three times per week and I plan to marry him soon. We're going to adopt a football team of boys and a netball team of girls since I'm rich and gay couples can't make babies. I'll have lots of great sex with him, kinky or not, and we'll live happily ever after with eighteen kids rampaging around in our house. End of story."

And the much awaited retort came almost immediately.

"Maa… Have fun making babies with Kurenai?"

"Shut it, Hatake," a glare by Asuma, signalling that he was not going to back down from their usual so called _manly_ argument.

"You started it," a scowl was returned by Kakashi, fulfilling the intention of sending the exact message right back at Asuma… _manlily_.

"No, YOU started it," a glower by Asuma this time, purposely emphasizing the word _you _in the sentence as if he could win by being louder and gruffer. Surprisingly, none of the I-am-so-rich-that-I-can-buy-an-island business tycoons was feeling particularly embarrassed or perturbed by their childish argument. It was a little out of this world but being like this, as in arguing like kids was among the rare fun that they could get when they still had mountains and mountains of unending work to be done. Too bad, there were not a lot of people out there who understood this kind of peculiar mindset thus people tended to think that they were a little insane, most probably due to exertions in work.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… Shame on you two. Middle-aged men acting like five years olds, such shame…"

"JIRAIYA!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. So… I heard that you booked all of his time. Why such generosity? His sessions cost a lot you know," ignoring the killer daggers directed at him, Jiraiya asked with a casual tone as he carefully walked on a thin line named as Kakashi's privacy. He _knew_ his apprentice and he certainly understood how much the silver haired man valued privacy. Asking questions like these was so equal to digging himself a grave, a very deep one at that. However, much to his surprise, Kakashi _did _answer his inquiries in genuine.

"I don't want him to spend time with anyone else. Call that possessive, I admit it. He's different and I don't feel like sharing him with others," the previously cheerful atmosphere in the office dimmed at once as Kakashi switched into a serious tone, unknowingly making himself the centre of attention in the room. He was actually being truthful, a very rare occurrence for him who equipped himself with all sorts of lame excuses for daily uses. But right now, he felt that he _should _say the truth. This _thing _he felt for Iruka – whatever it was – was definitely new to him and seeking experts' advices seemed like a fabulous idea. And even though Jiraiya and Asuma with their long history of failed relationships could barely pass as experts, they would do just fine right now.

"You really like him, don't you?" smiling, Asuma gave Kakashi a knowing look before he crouched down and picked up the mess that Jiraiya made earlier, seeing that it was hopeless if he continued to wait for the pervert to clean up. He knew how frequent Kakashi made an appearance at the geisha town as they went there together after all. From the way Kakashi held Iruka's waist so possessively to the way Kakashi looked at Iruka when he thought no one was looking, it was not hard to figure out that Kakashi definitely felt something for the handsome geisha. The only problem now was how to make Kakashi realised his feelings, and _faced _it like a man. This might sound relatively easy for most people, but for someone like Kakashi, he would do so much better in earning one million dollars than being in a long-lasting relationship.

"I like to spend time with him, I'm sure of this," it took a little while for Kakashi to compose his answer, as predicted by both Jiraiya and Asuma. It seemed that their assumption about Kakashi being unsure of his own feelings was right, much to their despair actually. Finally placing his feet back onto the floor, Jiraiya straightened his back along with his face as he looked at Kakashi and said solemnly, "Kakashi, Iruka is almost at the end of his geisha career and it's best for him if someone who loves him brings, or in other word _buys_ him out of the geisha town, leaving his past behind. I'm not going to lie, Tsunade sent me here. She's an old friend of mine and this is what she asked me to tell you."

"She did?" Kakashi inquired, not bothering to hide the surprise lacing his voice although he more or less managed to guess that Tsunade was the one who told Jiraiya about Iruka and him. As for how Jiraiya and Tsunade knew each other, it would be worth finding out if he had the extra time and energy to do so – which he was sure that he did not.

"Yeah. Iruka is not as… problem-free as he seems. Tsunade didn't say much as well but she told me that it'll be hard if you want to bring Iruka out of the geisha town once and for all," adding onto his previous sentence, Jiraiya nodded a couple of times before he gave an encouraging pat on Kakashi's shoulder, looking serious and all. This was a request from an old friend, a friend whom he cherished and cared dearly for years, so he was definitely willing to offer his best help until the very end.

"I see… Thanks for the reminder, Jiraiya. I should be going now, I'm going to meet him later," not making any comments on what Jiraiya had just said, Kakashi just glimpsed at his wristwatch before he found himself a perfect excuse to leave. It simply unnerved him when Jiraiya told him that it was going to be hard to bring Iruka out of the town forever and for some reasons, he felt that he should talk to Iruka instead of asking Jiraiya for the answer. He had never thought about bringing or _buying _Iruka but he was certain that he would not let anyone else do that, not _ever_.

"I'm going with you, Kakashi. Jiraiya, lock the office when you're leaving," dumping the whole stack of paper on top of his already messy desk, Asuma grabbed his coat and car keys before giving Jiraiya a two fingers salute – a habit which he picked up from Kakashi – and left the room joining his silver haired friend. It was Friday night and they never failed to show up at the flower street on this day of the week, with their Lamborghinis – one black, one silver – parked neatly side by side at the reserved parking site. They were somehow known as the VIPs over there now, maybe because of their generous tips to the geisha and their occasional donations to renovate the area. They were still the richer among the rich.

"Remember that he's different from those whom you spent only a night with. Don't end up hurting him," looking at the retreating back of the tall figure with broad shoulder and a pair of long model-like legs, Jiraiya spoke slightly louder just to make sure that his apprentice heard him clear. When he saw the two pale, long fingers raised so casually above the shock of untamed hair in a signature two fingers salute, he could not help but to allow a bellow of laugh to escape his throat at the familiar gesture which was so Kakashi-like. It was almost like a code, a code which said Kakashi understood everything that Kakashi heard. And he _knew_ his apprentice did not lie. Well, not on important matters anyway.

"_Good luck, Kakashi."_

* * *

A/N: I'm so, so sorry for the late update. Well, things happened and I was busy so yeah… Forgive me, please? (Edited due to a mistake I found later on.)


	6. Chapter 6

Stranded (Chapter 6)

Disclaimers: Not mine.

"I'm so glad to see you again, Kakashi-sama," a pair of slender arms snaked themselves around the pale, strong neck wrapped underneath the thick scarf, those tanned and long fingers entwining tightly to act as an anchor for Iruka as the geisha threw himself at his current sole customer and gave his warm greetings along with a smile bright as the sun. The standard bowing and polite greetings were forgotten somewhere back then, and they were replaced by heartfelt honest-to-goodness genuine welcome. For them, those so-called standard greeting procedures were not necessary anymore, as both of them had gotten so much closer nowadays due to the time they had spent together. It was almost as if they were lovers.

_Almost._

"So, how's Iruka doing today?" placing his large palms on the small of the back of Iruka just right under the bright obi, Kakashi crinkled his visible eye as a signal of smiling and pulled the geisha closer to himself, selfishly enjoying the warmth emanated from the man in his arms. It never failed to impress him how warm Iruka's hands were, or how warm the whole Iruka was, even if it was in the middle of harsh, cold winter. And that just gave him another solid reason to hug the tanned geisha even tighter than he was already – until Iruka made a little sound of protest, which did not sound quite like it but still effectively making him released his hold for a little. Just a little.

"Iruka is happy today. Very, very happy," the never fading bright smile went even brighter as Iruka arched his back and allowed his hips to touch slightly with Kakashi's, simply melting in the comfortable closeness with the silver haired man whom he had grown really fond of lately. Yes, he was happy. Not just because Kakashi was here _again, _but something else happened today and that made him really happy. And this would be the only time when he felt like his life was not half bad after all.

"I can see that. Care to tell Kakashi why?" completely releasing his hold on Iruka, Kakashi allowed the geisha to break free from his tight hug and chose to hold Iruka's waist instead as the geisha leaned close to him from the side with both hands clutched softly on his sinewy forearm. This was another walking position that he liked because it made him seemed so protective of Iruka. But in another not-so-subtle word, this would simply be identified as possessive. He personally preferred the first explanation, it sounded so much nicer.

"I've successfully taught someone something today!" leaping a little in his steps, Iruka looked at Kakashi and proclaimed his successful deed in a chirpy tone with the familiar arrogant gold glint in his eyes glimmered brightly underneath the very thin layer of warm brown façade. It simply fascinated Kakashi that Iruka could show so much just from his eyes alone, not that he did not appreciate that fact, as Iruka was grouped under the unreadable individuals' category by him and he wanted to understand the geisha so badly. It was just that he did not want his amusement to end when he still had not gotten tired of his source of amusement. And no, he was not implying that he would get tired of Iruka – he really, really liked the tanned skin geisha after all.

"Really? That's very impressive of you. You like to teach, don't you?" Kakashi smiled a little wider under his scarf as he realised that he just saw the childish side of Iruka, which is very, very rare and valuable in his opinion. He wanted to see every single side of the geisha, not just the looks but the personalities as well. He had seen sexy, quiet, serene, naughty, talented, childish and witty by far, and he wished to see more. He wished to see them all.

"Yes, Kakashi-sama. I just feel so happy giving knowledge to others, knowing that what I taught will definitely help them in a way or another in the future," right after Iruka finished this sentence, his smile suddenly faltered from happily bright to regretfully dim within seconds and he went completely quiet and still. Right at that moment, Kakashi felt as if his heart was stabbed, not the fast, blazing kind of pain but the irritating kind of pain which stayed around and never left. It seriously took him by a total surprise. But before he could compose himself again, Iruka continued with a now solemn voice, "I love to teach. I really do. But my conditions seldom allowed me to. You understand the feelings right, Kakashi-sama? It's like you wanted to do something so badly but you never got the chance to do it. It has always been like that. And although I force myself to accept the reality that it's impossible for me to be a teacher, I just get sad whenever I talk about it… I'm so sorry, Kakashi-sama."

It took Kakashi a while to reply, as he was more concern about the almost falling tears gathering at the bottom of Iruka's wide doe eyes rather than the out of place apology. He had never thought of the geisha crying, because whenever they were together, Iruka was always happy, or just being naughty. And now that he had already saw the redden eyes, a little swollen with so much unspoken forlornness hidden underneath, he simply knew it. He would NOT let those tears fell, ever.

"Why did you apologise?" the question was asked so softly and gently until Iruka thought that it was just his hallucination if Kakashi was not giving him the infamous I'm-waiting-for-an-answer look. So he did answer in the end, after a long while of dreaded silence.

"Because you're not here to listen to me ranting on some random irrelevant things. I'm really sorry, Kakashi-sama."

"Who says that what you've just said is irrelevant? And who says that I don't want to listen?" looking right into the pair of doe eyes, Kakashi spoke in forced calmness with a hint of harsh undertone – which Iruka picked up so clearly – as he held Iruka's chin with his thumb and forefinger, applying force a little too hard without even knowing it. Those almost falling tears, they certainly made his mood gone wild. He was not blaming Iruka, of course. He was not even sure why he was so angry at the first place. The only thing he knew was to never, ever let those tears fell. It would hurt him too much just to watch.

"I-I'm sorry, Kakashi-sama. I'm sorry…" the timid reply came, voice shaking and trembling just like the person who was currently speaking. And right when the silver haired business tycoon noticed the defensive brown was slowly mapping its territory back in Iruka's eyes, he simply knew how scary he must have been a while back.

"Iruka, I- I don't mean… I'm not angry about you, so please don't be scared or sorry. I was just… I'm the one who should apologise. I'm so sorry," cupping the warm cheeks with his gloved hands, Kakashi spoke as soft as possible – probably the gentlest he had ever been with anyone in his whole life – as he rubbed placating circles on Iruka's high cheekbones with his thumbs. Without even realising it, Kakashi raised his head and shook it a couple of times, freeing his lower half face from the confinement of the thick scarf as he closed his eyes and placed his thin lips on the outer corner of Iruka's right eye.

"_I'm sorry."_

The apology was just a ghost of whisper until Iruka could only barely make out what Kakashi had said from the lips movement he felt on his right eye. Kakashi's lips were not soft at all to say the truth. It was a little chapped, most probably due to the dry cold weather, but Iruka had to say that it was the most wondrous feeling ever. He felt _cared_. Of the very first time in his life, he could actually feel the unreserved care pouring onto him from someone other than his parents and Tsunade.

And the someone, it was Kakashi.

"_I'm so sorry."_

Another whispered apology, this time having the pair of slightly chapped lips planted softly on his left eye, the action so gentle that he could almost feel nothing aside from warm breaths puffing on his face. Again, that had felt good, so he decided to stay still and simply immersed himself in the lovely mood surrounding the both of them. They stood just like that, with Kakashi bent down a little to press his lips on Iruka's eye and his hands cupping Iruka's cheeks… until the silver haired man decided to take things further.

One of Kakashi's palms slowly made its way to the back of the geisha's neck and the other stealthily went lower down to the small of Iruka's back, pressing insistently in order to make their hips met. And once Kakashi felt Iruka's jutting hipbones on his upper thigh, he thrust forward on pure instinct, unknowingly elicited a soft yet erotic gasp from the surprised geisha.

"Kaka…"

"Shh, I'm not going to do anything. Just let me hold you like this," skilfully restraining the slender tanned arms that were going to push him away without actually hurting the owner of said arms, Kakashi pulled Iruka into his embrace and buried his nose into the soft brown hair, inhaling the familiar jasmine scent in deep breaths in order to release his earlier anger and tension. From the slowly reddening neck and the lack of resistance, Kakashi made a rough conclusion that perhaps Iruka liked this as much as he did – which was a very, very good thing indeed. And when he finally felt a pair of warm palms placed tentatively right below his shoulder blades returning his embrace, the action so shy and unsure, everything just got a thousand times better right at that instant. He had definitely made the right move.

"Stay with me?" he asked, voice again feather-like soft.

"Absolutely," and the equally soft reply came, not exactly as expected but the very much wanted.

With that, the two men – one slightly taller and much fairer than the other – stood quietly in each other arms, feeling every dips and hard planes of the other's body, counting the steady if not a little fast heartbeats and enjoying the human warmth in the cold winter night under the glimmering light of red lanterns hanging at the pavilion – the very first place they spent their time together for a night.

* * *

"So, what's with the sudden interest in schooling and education?" looking over to his silver haired partner who was busying himself with different brochures and books all about schools and teachings, Asuma frowned as he once again realised that his office had gotten even messier than before. There were documentations scattered around, which were normal in an office, coffee machine, which was also normal, followed by porn and now education brochures which were definitely out of place. This was what happened ever since Kakashi infiltrated his office when he was not paying enough attention. Shame on himself, really.

"If you have the time to ask, why don't you just do your work?" the placid reply from the equally expressionless face earned Kakashi a file that headed straight towards his face, which was thankfully dodged. Not that Asuma really wanted to hit on target anyway, he knew Kakashi would be able to dodge that kind of attack even with his eyes closed. It was just a way for him to release his pent up anger or frustration or whatever.

"Look at the paper mountains on your desk before you say anything, Hatake," bending down to clear the mess that he just made – as all the paperwork in the file fell off from its confinement like a storm – Asuma gave his lanky friend a dirty look before he spat his retort venomously. Sometimes he amazed himself how well he could put up with the various antics of his silver haired partner without going crazy… yet. Well, perhaps he was already crazy at the first place, seeing that he actually allowed a lunatic like that to reside in his office.

"Maa, do you know about teachers?" not even sparing Asuma an extra look, Kakashi scanned through the brochures one by one as he asked without showing much interest. His slender pale fingers occasionally pushed his reading spectacles higher up to a more comfortable position, a habit of him whenever he was reading something. The small writings in the brochures were definitely killing his already half bad eyesight. But he did not complain much and he would not do so anytime soon, as he was pretty sure that whatever he was doing right now was absolutely worth every single minute of it.

"What?!" the surprised reply came as expected, and Kakashi simply repeated his question again.

"Why are you asking me this?" curious, Asuma placed the messy stack of paper on his hands back onto his messy desk messily and went over to peep at some education brochures scattered messily on Kakashi's also messy desk. Yeah, everything was messy in there.

"Because I skipped all my primary and secondary education?" it was an instant answer given by Kakashi who did not even move his sight away from the silky paper on his hands. He really did not have much knowledge about how primary and secondary educations for normal kids were, as he was basically indentified as a genius since he was four years old. And ever since then, he had special tutors teaching him full time just to make him entered university as early as possible. Thus, zero knowledge on normal schooling, understandable.

"Me too," sadly, Asuma was almost the same as him – a very close to genius prodigy who never underwent normal education either.

"Oh, right. Never mind then," sighing a little, Kakashi picked up another brochure about another random primary school and started to scan through the piece of paper again, hoping to find some useful information that he was looking for – which was proven to be so much harder than he first expected.

"Why are you asking about this anyway?" Asuma shuffled through all the books and brochures placed on Kakashi's desk before he repeated his earlier question yet again, not satisfied by the way Kakashi answered a question with another question. He simply could not understand why a genius like Kakashi was looking into primary education's information. It was so out of place that it just could not make any sense to him. And so he asked. But the answer that he got, it was not a very satisfying one.

"Because I'm planning for your kids' education?"

"Don't give me shit."

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A/N: Another late update… but hey! At least I updated. XD To all the lovelies reading this, review please? Mwah!


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